Overview

Grave concerns persist for some 20 million people in the Sahel. Recurrent conflict, erratic weather patterns, epidemics and other shocks continue to weaken the resilience of households across a region still suffering chronic levels of food insecurity and malnutrition.

An estimated 20.4 million people remain food insecure at the start of 2015. At least 2.6 million people have already crossed the crisis threshold, 70 percent of whom are in Niger, Nigeria, Mali and Chad where insecurity and poverty compound food insecurity.

Epidemics continue to demand urgent attention in 2015. Besides cholera, meningitis, Lassa and yellow fever, more recently, Ebola has been posing a serious threat to the Sahel region and has already impacted Mali, Nigeria, and Mali directly.

Beyond the chronic threats of food insecurity, malnutrition and epidemics, violent conflict in and around the Sahel region has led to a surge in population displacement. The region begins 2015 with some 2.8 million people displaced; over a million more than in early 2014. With escalating conflict in northeast Nigeria, an estimated one million people have been internally displaced. Some 150,000 Nigerian refugees have fled to neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon. The volatile security situation in northern Mali continues to have a devastating impact on civilians, hampering the return of refugees, affecting markets and preventing the full restoration of basic services. Some 133,000 Malian refugees remain in Mauritania, Niger and Burkina Faso and more than 80,000 Malians remain internally displaced. As in Nigeria, high levels of insecurity in northern Mali also greatly impact the ability of humanitarians to access those in need. (Sahel: A call for humanitarian aid, 12 Feb 2015)

Due to the ongoing crisis in the Lake Chad Basin, Chad is now the seventh largest refugee-hosting country in the world with over 750,000 displaced persons, the majority of whom are refugees or Chadian returnees who fled from the Central African Republic, Libya, Nigeria, and Sudan. At the end of August, the Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Sahel called on the international community to ramp up its support in response to the multi-faceted humanitarian challenges affecting the country. (OCHA, 27 Aug 2015)

On 9 December 2015, United Nations agencies and partners launched the Sahel humanitarian appeal for 2016. The regional plan calls for US$1.98 billion to provide vital assistance to millions of people affected by crises in nine countries across Africa’s Sahel region. (OCHA, 9 Dec 2015)

As of 28 November 2016, the Humanitarian Response Plan for the Sahel was 41% funded. (OCHA, 28 Nov 2016)

For 2017 the humanitarian community will require US$ 2.66 billion to help 15 million people, across 8 countries. (OCHA, 7 Dec 2016)

Locust outbreak has continued in western Mauritania. Breeding has extended to southern Western Sahara, where limited control operations are in progress, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization.

Poor early season precipitation has resulted in increasing moisture deficits and deteriorating ground conditions throughout portions of Angola, southern DRC, and northern Zambia.

Humanitarian organizations have requested for US$1.5 billion in 2017 to assist 8.2 million people left destitute by the long-running Boko Haram-linked conflict cross the Lake Chad Basin. The violence has so far displaced around 2.4 million people, stoked high levels of food insecurity and malnutrition and accentuated the hardship and suffering faced by some of the world’s most deprived populations.

Nigeria - The humanitarian community will soon be able to better coordinate support for northeast Nigeria, where nearly seven million people are in need of life-saving assistance. This is thanks to the setting up of a humanitarian base camp and hub project, which will cover Borno, the state hardest hit by the Boko Haram conflict.

Imagine a doctor’s surgery with gallons of water lined up in jerry cans, purchased because the taps are dry. Lab technicians washing out excrement samples in hand basins without running water. As many as 40 patients a day with only one fetid, backed-up toilet in which to relieve themselves.

The Africa Report on Internal Displacement, launched with the support from the African Union and the Norwegian Refugee Council, is the first IDMC’s report focusing on a single continent. The report expands on data and analysis available in our annual Global Report on Internal Displacement including new figures from the first half of 2016.

The new figure is a stark reminder of why UNICEF was established, as the organization marks 70 years of work for the most vulnerable children

NEW YORK, 9 December 2016 – An estimated 535 million children – nearly one in four – live in countries affected by conflict or disaster, often without access to medical care, quality education, proper nutrition and protection, UNICEF said today.